Meet Mel – Founder & Principal Practitioner

Mel is the heart behind The Paddock Practitioner. With a lifelong passion for both helping people and connecting with horses, she has created a unique therapeutic space where children and adolescents can feel safe, supported, and truly seen.

Combining her deep understanding of mental health with her love of nature and animals, Mel offers Equine Assisted Therapy as an alternative, evidence-informed approach for young people struggling with emotional, psychological, or social challenges. She is particularly passionate about working with children and teens who haven’t responded well to traditional therapy models.

With years of experience in both acute and chronic mental health care settings, Mel has seen firsthand the limitations of conventional services—especially when it comes to supporting younger clients. Motivated by the rising rates of anxiety, depression, and emotional distress among Australian youth, Mel began researching more holistic, body-based therapies that honour the whole child.

This led her to Equine Assisted Therapy, which she now uses as her primary therapeutic approach. Mel integrates this powerful method with mindfulness, meditation, and ecotherapy practices to create an immersive, nature-based healing experience. Through connection with horses and the natural world, her clients learn emotional regulation, self-awareness, and resilience.

Mel is committed to ongoing research and learning in the fields of Equine Assisted Therapy, Mindfulness, and Ecotherapy. Her mission is clear: to support Australian children and adolescents in finding meaningful pathways to emotional health, confidence, and wellbeing—one step, and one hoofprint, at a time.

Mel’s Professional Background

Mel brings over 15 years of experience in Emergency Trauma Nursing, Paediatric and Adolescent Health Care, and Adult Trauma and Mental Health Nursing. Her extensive background spans both acute and chronic mental health settings, giving her a deep understanding of the complexities of emotional wellbeing and the limitations of conventional approaches—particularly for children and adolescents.

Recognising the need for more holistic and accessible methods of support, Mel has spent years exploring the therapeutic benefits of nature and animals. Her lifelong passion for horses and the natural world is backed by a strong foundation in animal behaviour and welfare, particularly in horse and dog training.

Mel’s approach is grounded in the belief that nature and animals can profoundly support human healing. She integrates this wisdom into every session, drawing on her clinical knowledge, therapeutic experience, and intuitive understanding of the unique connection between people, animals, and the environment.

• Equine Assisted Learning Practitioner - The Equine Psychotherapy Institute

• Member of the International Institute of Complementary Therapies
  

• Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Nurse
  

• Graduate Certificate in Paediatric Nursing
  

• Clincal Nurse Specialist in Paediatric Nursing
  

• Bachelor of Nursing
  

• Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency AHPRA Registered
  

• Australian Working with Childrens Check

Professional Registration and Licensing